"A seed falls, And settles into the ground, And the Sun shines, And the rain comes down, And the seed grows..."

To understand how a seed becomes a sunflower, you have to peek beneath the soil and wait patiently as winding roots grow, a stalk inches out of the earth, and new seeds emerge among blooming petals.

With evocative and lively illustrations, A Seed Grows offers a close-up view of each step of this process and the ways in which flowers and seeds depend on other creatures, with a striking fold-out spread of a full-grown sunflower and additional material at the back of the book explaining the science of plant life cycles.

The final quiz and suggested activities are a fun way to re-inforce what has been learnt.

About the Author

Antoinette Portis has a Fine Arts degree, has worked in design and advertising at Disney, and lives in California. Antoinette made her picture-book debut with 'Not A Box', winner of an ALA Seuss Geisel Honor, a New York Times Ten Best Illustrated Books of the Year and NYT bestseller. She was a recipient of the 2010 Sendak Fellowship. 'Hey! Water' won a Sibert Honor and longlisting for the UKLA 2021 Awards, and 'A New Green Day' was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the year and NCTE Notable Book in Poetry, as well as winning the English Association Picture Book Award (4-7 non fiction), and being nominated for the Carnegie Medal for illustration.

Reviews

'This book is vibrant, it bursts with life, its text follows a gentle rhythm and all aspects of it will appeal to its young audience.' Armadillo

'The minimal words work beautifully with the bright and bold illustrations, in a style reminiscent of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar ... A gorgeous book to engage young children's interest in how plants grow.' Juno Magazine

'An exquisite inspiration for EYFS wall displays and cross-curricular literacy and art 'things that grow' topics. There's also an impressive and clever sense of perspective that will intrigue younger readers and the vertically unfolding 'until it forms a bud' page is a delightful twist in this narrative nonfiction tale.' School Reading List

'We love this simple and yet stunning story which follows the life cycle of a sunflower. With its pull-out page and enticing activities at the end this book will have youngsters wide eyed with excitement at every read.' Creative Steps

'A bright and bold work of narrative non-fiction, A Seed Grows follows Hey, Water! and A New Green Day by author-illustrator Antoinette Portis. A consequential look at the life cycle of a sunflower, from seed to shoot to flower, and back to seed again. Features an engaging fold-out page, and plenty of bonus backmatter, including a quiz and further activities involving plants and seeds. The perfect book for any Early Years classroom.' CLPE

'Reminiscent of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, this is a simple - and surprisingly moving - depiction of a seed becoming a sunflower. A lovely book for babies at bedtime.' i-newspaper - 30 best kids books for summer

'Fresh and original approach to exploring the natural world through lyrical words, outstanding artwork, a striking fold-out spread of a full-grown sunflower, and the bonus of additional material at the back of the book explaining the science of plant life cycles...the book is both a beautiful work of art and a source of education, entertainment and discovery.' Lancashire Evening Post

Awards
Winner of Sibert Honor 2023 and Seuss Geisel Honor 2023.



Book Information
ISBN 9781836300076
Author Antoinette Portis
Format Paperback
Page Count 40
Imprint Scallywag Press
Publisher Scallywag Press
Dimensions(mm) 230mm * 230mm * 4mm